Containers and lids for storing foodstuffs and the like are generally made of a plastic material such as polypropylene or polyethylene polymers or copolymers. Such containers and lids are normally fairly rigid, but may be subject to some amount of flexure especially where the lid or cover is arranged to be peeled off of the container mouth. Most such container/lid configurations provide a sealing bead or rim along the upper wall of the container with a mating channel on the lid which engages the bead as well as the adjacent inner and outer surfaces of the container wall. Such sealing arrangements generally require considerable effort to force the lid onto the sealing bead during the closing procedure and perhaps greater effort to peal the lid away from the container during the opening process. The opening procedure for such container/lid configurations may be quite difficult for a person suffering from arthritis or tendinitis.
Large mouth food storage containers with hinged cap assemblies, for example, of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,314 are also available. Such cap assemblies are formed of a cap body arranged to screwed onto the mouth of the container with a lid hinged to the cap body. The containers designed for use with such cap assemblies are generally designed to be grasped around a portion of the cross-sectional circumference of the container body. A person suffering from arthritis or tendinitis may find it difficult to hold and transport such container. In addition, prior art container/cap assemblies require three parts, i.e., a cap body, a lid and a container unless the hinge between the cap body and the lid is a living hinge, i.e., molded integrally with the cap and lid, in which case the lid cannot be separated from the cap body. Even in the absence of a living hinge arrangement it may be difficult for a user to separate the lid from the cap body.
There is a need for a simple wide mouth food stuff storing container/lid combination with a user friendly handle at the top of the unit and a lid which is hinged directly to the container in which hinge is easily detached for accommodating dishwasher cleaning.
The construction and feature of the present invention may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the appended claims.